Family
by Joker-Girl-Kelly
Summary: "I remember everything perfectly. I just remember differently, that's all." Andi remembers nothing from their excursion into the past, and Jim's left trying to piece together his new memories while trying to skirt around the new ones... Full Summary inside. Sequel to Act Like A Boy and One Day At A Time, go check those out first. Rated T for swearing, violence, nothing too bad.
1. Growing Up

**_Summary:"I remember everything perfectly. I just remember differently, that's all." Andi remembers nothing from their excursion into the past, and Jim's left trying to piece together his new memories while skirting around the old ones. Meanwhile, Marie and Logan are forcibly (and mostly unwittingly) involved with some pretty bad guys, while Victoria is handed her father's job and realizes he's been with the good guys. Things may not be as black and white as they seem, though, and one thing is inevitable - something big is brewing, and no one is going to stay fully innocent for long._**

* * *

"Daddy?" Andi peeks around the corner into the den, Jimmy coming up behind her. Their father is obviously getting ready to go – somewhere. This has been happening increasingly often, both their parents disappearing every now and then, their father more than their mother. Usually it's to go on a mission with the X-men, who are forever in need of an extra set of hands, but other teams are forming and growing now, so he could be going anywhere really. It scares Jimmy and Andi a bit. They are only six after all. But they are slowly beginning to get the idea that Daddy's strong, he'll come back, he always does, they don't need to worry.

"Well, come on." Their father gets down on one knee and the little ones sprint across the room and right into his waiting arms. He chuckles and places a kiss on each of their heads.

.

"Do you have to go?" Jimmy sniffles softly, trying to be a big boy and not cry, but failing miserably. It's their mother this time. Their birthday is tomorrow and he doesn't want her to go. They're turning eight and having a party with some friends from town and it won't be the same without her.

"Hey, now." She replies, voice soft, as she leans in to press her lips to each of his chubby cheeks, kissing away his tears. "We'll have cake and ice cream, just the four of us when Ah get back, ok?"

"Chocolate cake?" He sniffles and stutters a bit. "With cream frosting." He means cream cheese frosting. Mama chuckles a bit.

"Of course! And chunky chocolate ice cream." She adds a little louder, and his sister peeks her head out into the room from the hallway as if on cue, hazel eyes brightening. "Well, come on!" Mama says, and Andi runs into the room to be pulled into the hug that Jimmy is already enveloped in, and all is well. Mama will be back, they know. Mama's strong like Daddy's strong, she always comes back.

.

"But I don't _wanna!_" Andi growls. It is high pitched and cute more than it is threatening, but Jimmy notices that his parents share a look anyways, a knowing one. Outbursts like this one haven't been typical of either of them until lately. His sister seemed to be working with a much shorter fuse in the past few months. It doesn't help that she's sick again. "Ms. Georgia's…" Old. She trails off before she says it, knowing she'll be scolded for her rudeness, but Jimmy hears it loud and clear on her end.

"You won't be stayin with Ms. Georgia. Your cousin's in town, I know you love her, she's agreed to stay with yah." Their Mama informs them calmly. The thing is, she and Daddy both are disappearing for a day or two this time, and neither Andi nor Jimmy are particularly happy about. It doesn't happen too often, which is perhaps why they don't like it. Andi, though…

"I don't care! What if my fever comes back! What if…" She isn't feeling well. She isn't throwing up or anything but her appetite does disappear during these bouts of sickness, and she's had a fever that keeps coming back coupled with an overall ill feeling, her body just hurting, sore in a way she can't quite put into words.

"I've already told Vicky how to handle it, you'll be just fine."

"How do you know?" Andi asks, somewhat impetuous, and their father sighs.

"I know," he presses a kiss to the eleven-year-olds forehead before giving her a small smile, "because I was."

.

They're thirteen now and they have to go to school and Jimmy has a head ache and… he ends up crying when his Mama comes out, an all too familiar duffle bag packed and slung over her shoulder.

"No!" He says simply and his Mama gives him a firm look at the same time his father quirks an eyebrow in his direction.

"Excuse me?" Mama says, and he gets a little sheepish, ducking his head to look down at the floor.

"I mean, please don't go. My head hurts again. I don't want you to go." It's silly and he's a big baby, a Mama's boy, but he doesn't care.

_You can beg and cry all you want, she ain't gonna stay, you know that. _His sister sends a mental snort in his direction. _Besides, you always have a stupid headache._

He doesn't bother to answer. It's true, he always seems to have a headache, but he can't help it. His telepathy is growing stronger still and he's having a harder time keeping up.

Mama ends up promising, just as she always does, that she won't be gone long, and Daddy lets him stay home from school, so all ends up being well.

.

Fifteen now. Schools out for the time being. Mama and Daddy are both leaving again, but neither of the twins think twice. Jim makes a point of saying goodbye, hugging his father and giving his Mama a kiss on the cheek, Andi gives them a lazy and careless wave, and then their gone.

She gets up as soon as they are and slips off the sweater she'd been wearing to reveal a low cut red top, too low cut for a fifteen year old, but Jim's learned not to bother scolding his sister for – anything, really. She believes herself invincible with the healing factor that had begun developing when they were almost twelve, and really, it's pointless to try telling her otherwise. She slips on the leather jacket Dad had bought her and then slips out the door to meet the friends that are picking her up.

Jim takes out a book and settles down for a quiet night alone.

.

By the time their sixteen about to be seventeen, neither of them think twice. Except for the fact that their being left with their baby siblings, also twins and only months old, it's nothing out of the ordinary when their parents leave.

Except, days pass, and they hear nothing. Several days. A good week. Two. Finally, having nothing to go on but the memory of their parents mentioning the mansion, Andi calls up Ororo Munroe.

"Jimmy." She says when she slips back into the room after getting off the phone. "She says she never called Mama and Dad. They never went to the mansion."

Neither of them know how to take this news. Silence reins for several minutes as they process this information while staring, horrified, at each other.

"They lied to us." Andi says quietly, voicing what Jim had just been on the verge of thinking.

"Well – maybe they had good reason, maybe –"

"Maybe what!" She explodes abruptly. "It's been weeks! What good reason could they possibly have for – for abandoning us! What are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't know, Andi. I don't know." His voice cracks. Her shoulders slump as she visibly deflates and slowly comes to sit next to him. He wraps an arm around her shoulders, she leans her head on his, and then they're both crying silent tears.

…

Some new memories came to him as he slept, but the scenes were fragmented, glimpses not quite big enough. At least they seemed to be coming to him in order. He feared it would be days, maybe weeks, before he could really figure it all out. It frustrated him. He was normally a very patient person, but there were things he wants to know, and he wanted to know them _now_.

Andi was in the kitchen when he finally dared to venture out of his bedroom (and how she even got him there was a mystery on its own since he should've weighed more than her). Sitting at the table and puffing on a cigar, she looked more than a little like – well, could've be either of their parents really. Marie and Logan had both been known to indulge in them. He said nothing about it, mainly because he secretly liked the smell. The cabin wouldn't have felt like home without it hanging so strongly in the air. That was probably why his sister was smoking it, he mused.

"You're awake!" She greeted, eyeing him as he poured himself some coffee and sat down. "Feeling any better?"

"No." He said simply, and he didn't like the way she was looking at him. Wary, like he was a stranger. "What?" He asked, snapped a bit harshly in a way that wasn't like him, but she didn't bat an eyelash, not that he'd expect her to.

"Just wondering if you're planning to actually tell me what's wrong. I know you're blocking me out."

"I'm not certain what's wrong. And if I wasn't, you'd just be confused to."

"Ok, so just try to explain."

"I don't know –" he paused as something occurred to him, "do you remember, it was a few years ago now," assuming this was one thing that hadn't changed, "Tony bringing us down to that lab he has set up, raving about this machine that could, supposedly, send us back in time."

She snorted. "Yeah, I remember Tony's time machine. It was an interesting idea in theory, but too complicated to really try."

"Complicated. You have no idea."

She was giving him that wary look again. "And up until about five seconds ago I would've assumed you didn't either."

He met her eyes. "What if I were to tell you it worked."

"Now I know for a fact that ain't true. No one would be his guinea pig, Tony scrapped the idea, still complains about it like a five year old every now and then."

"Say it did, though…"

She puffed the cigar with a thoughtful air and he eyed it, wishing it was his mother sitting across from him and not Andi. He could see their mother as he remembered her, on one of her saner mornings. She'd be wrapped in an old flannel shirt that she'd stolen from their father as she slipped into the room to pluck the thick cigar right from between his lips.

He took a breath to fight off the sudden and rather undignified urge to burst into tears. He didn't care if he was a grown man, he just wanted to see his mom. Was that too much to ask after everything that he'd just gone through?

"I'm listening." His sister said finally.

"Say something went wrong, seriously wrong, enough that it actually seemed worth the risk to go back and try to fix things. And whoever went back actually managed to make the change happen."

"Well," she shrugged, "I'd think this person probably wouldn't remember. Either way – who's to say they actually fixed everything. Who's to say they didn't make it worse."

Jim found himself, inexplicably, barking out a laugh. That was exactly the argument she'd made when trying to convince their father they shouldn't use the time machine in the first place. His first instinct now was to say she'd been right, because now they'd lost both their parents, but who was he to say the rest of the world wasn't better off? He didn't know that yet. "Andrea, I love you!"

"Ah, love you to, Jimmy." Her brows furrowed even as she smiled in amusement at him. "Did I say something funny?"

"No. Well, sort of. It's just – I do remember. I remember everything perfectly. I just remember differently, that's all. It's my telepathy I think. My mind doesn't work the same as yours does."

"Well, I already knew that." She studied him for a moment before placing her cigar in an ashtray sitting next to her and clasping both hands to rest her chin on them. "You did it. In some other – timeline? I don't know what you'd call it, but that's what you're trying to say. You went back and changed something and now you still remember whereas everyone else's memories just got replaced."

Ok, another change. This Andi was – well, not to say that she'd been dumb in either version of their lives, but this one seemed to have learned how to really use the brain she had whereas his Andi – she'd been too impatient most of the time to stop and think. Perhaps that was just a product of the other changes.

"Yes." He slumped back against the kitchen chair. "Exactly. The new memories are coming to me, but slowly. It could be weeks before I can sort it all out."

"You know," Andi said, thoughtful, "Vicky has a friend, a real sweet woman, who's also telepathic. I don't know exactly what her mutation is, but maybe she could help you."

His brows furrowed at the way she said 'Vicky'. They hadn't been particularly close to their older cousin originally, but Andi said 'Vicky' with all the affection she put behind his name or that of their siblings. As if she were their older sister almost. It unnerved him a bit; Victoria hadn't exactly been on their side originally. That's why the things they'd changed had centered on her.

"What now?" Andi asked, sounding a tad exasperated by the look on his face.

"Vicky as in Victoria, right? Our cousin?"

"Yeah, who else would I be talking about?"

"No one." Jim sighed. "Just go call her."

* * *

_39 Years Ago_

Victor started taking her with him when the nightmares worsened. It gave her good reason to train harder, allowed her to blow off steam and left her exhausted enough that she slept deeper and didn't dream as much.

Rosie didn't like it. 'You're not him' she said, ' and as much as I love him, one is enough.' She began refusing to call her daughter by her middle name. Her words began to haunt Victoria just as Lizzie's still did. She understood that her mother was scared, but she also knew that her step-father was out there somewhere, and he'd eventually pay for all the trouble he'd caused. She had to be strong enough to make him, first, though, and if that meant doing what Victor told her, then her mother would just have to deal.

…

Victoria dodged another blow, if only barely, and scrambled backwards until she hit a wall. The man in front of her was even bigger than her father, a real giant, and the punches she was throwing weren't doing much good.

Wolf growled at her to stop being such a girl about it and start slicing and dicing. Victoria refused, to spite the fact that the other woman they'd come here with was already dead by his hand. She hated it when things got to this point. She couldn't imagine using her claws like that again without seeing Reinhardt's face in her mind's eye. She just couldn't.

Where was Victor, anyways? This was supposed to be an easy job. He'd promised her, just the easy jobs for now.

The giant had a knife now, and it was giant too. She pressed herself further against the wall and braced herself for the pain…

…that never came. A low growl, a scream, and the sound of metal hitting the concrete beneath them before she felt something warm spurt across her face, and she was opening her eyes to see the giant very, very dead with her father coming towards her. He didn't tell her not to look – he never did, knew she'd already seen just as bad – but something in her expression must have worried him, because he did take her arm, hurrying her away.

_38 Years Ago_

All she wanted was some peace, but she couldn't seem to find any. Her mother seemed to be questioning every decision she made. Lizzie wasn't calling her as often anymore. Ben had been acting odd around her, letting her call the shots in a way no boy had ever done around her before – she couldn't decide how she felt about this.

Victor and her mother had begun to argue at night when they thought she was sleeping. She wanted Victoria to find a normal job, go to college. Victor thought it should be up to her what she did, wanted her to have the choice that he and her uncle hadn't exactly had.

'She's choosin the same path, though, are yah just goin to let her!' Her mother argued with all the fiery attitude of a protective Southern Mama.

'She's mine through and through, Rosie, trouble finds her on its own. At least this way I can keep an eye on her.'

Her mother wasn't particularly satisfied with this answer. Victor being Victor, he let her yell and rant about it all she wanted, took her to bed when she was finally done, and that was the end of that.

…

Victoria was glad it was another woman this time. She could actually enjoy herself fighting with another woman. They danced across the floor of the warehouse in a flurry of fists and high kicks – and claws in Victoria's case – and paid little attention to the entire shelves full of…well, junk that they were knocking over in the process.

The young girl tied to a chair in the middle of the room screamed when one of the shelves just next to her was tipped over. Victoria threw a well-placed punch, sending the woman reeling with a now bleeding nose, before leaping forward on all fours and kicking out, sending the chair screeching away just in time. The woman recovered quicker than expected, though, and before Victoria knew it the little girl had a knife held to her throat.

Victoria swore and shot back up to her feet, reaching for the small hand gun she had strapped to her thigh.

The girl shook like leaf. Victoria trained the gun on the woman she'd been fighting, but her hands shook, and the woman laughed, taunting her, wondering aloud if Victoria had the guts to pull the trigger. Several moments passed like this as Victoria tried to work up the courage to shoot the woman and the woman made a shallow cut in the throat of the sobbing girl.

_Just do it!_ Wolf snarled at her, and her finger inched back, because maybe this woman did deserve…

The next few moments were a blur as, once again, her father came to her rescue. He grabbed the woman and dragged her away. Her screams rang out through the warehouse… and then abruptly went silent as Victoria let out a breath and shoved her gun back in its holster before freeing the girl.

_37 Years Ago_

Victoria stopped short when she came into the room and saw who was in the cage along with several other kids from the mansion. The blonde hair and big brown eyes were unmistakable. Liz looked deceptively calm, but Victoria could smell the fear coming off of all of them in waves. Her fists clenched as a rage the likes of which she hadn't felt since she was nineteen bubbled to the surface.

When the guards started pouring into the room, Wolf told her not to bother playing nice. Victoria, for once, was inclined to agree.

This time, when her father came to find her, he was greeted with the scene he was usually the one leaving, and Victoria was stalking past him with her friend and the others in tow.

…

He started taking her on 'real' missions after that. Rosie was still worried, Victoria could tell, but she'd stopped saying anything, seemed resigned. Victoria started to feel awkward around her. She tried to find other things to do, places to be. Ben provided a welcome distraction.

Her father started putting her in charge of training other kids to fight like he'd trained her. For what reason, she had no clue. It was mostly boys. They challenged her at every turn until one time, finally, she singled out the largest boy in the group saying he'd be her partner for the day. She'd overheard him calling her a dumb bitch. Wolf though that was about enough. Victoria agreed. She beat him until the other boys stopped snickering and smirked when he got dragged off to be patched up.

Everyone heard about it. Nothing remained a secret for long in their little village.

That same night she allowed Ben to take her to bed for the first time. Well, more like she took him. Somewhere along the line, he asked her what had gotten into her.

Victoria simply informed him that she'd had about enough of 'playing nice'.

_36 Years Ago_

"What's the matter? Don't want to hit a girl, or are you just afraid Ah'll kick your scrawny ass." Victoria kept her gold-flecked eyes trained on the boy in front of her. He was blonde haired and taller than her, but too skinny, and she suspected he really didn't know how to fight, at least not like she did. If she remembered correctly, his father had taught him how to shoot, and he was real good at that – and not much else.

She was supposed to be training him and the small group of others around, most of them only eighteen years old, like the boy in front of her, but he'd approached her before she could even begin. Considering there was only one other girl in the group of ten she was training, she suspected this had been some kind of dare, not that it mattered. He'd been stupid enough to take the dare, and she never went easy on these idiots.

The blonde glanced around at the other boys, who were all cheering him on a bit in between soft snickers. He did look nervous. Wolf stirred, getting restless, ready to have some fun with this new toy. Victoria gave him the fanged smirk she was becoming known for before putting her hands on her hips. "Come on, hot shot, make a move. Yah do know how to hit someone, don't yah?"

He hesitated further. More snickers from the other boys. His face set in determination as his fists finally clenched and he lunged at her, putting all his weight behind a punch that might have hurt a bit if it'd hit home. Unfortunately for him, it didn't. She was too quick for him, dodging easily and chuckling as he swung at nothing and ended up stumbling forward a bit. "Nice try. My turn." She crouched low and swung one leg out and around to knock his legs out from under him, sending him to his knees. In a further whirlwind of movement, she pushed his bony shoulders while he was still off guard, sending him flying forward. Then, leaping forward herself, she sat atop his legs and clasped his neck from behind, digging her nails in and shoving his face into the dirt.

This was met with stunned silence and one lone snicker – from the one girl this time – before a slow clapping reached her ears. She looked up with eyes now entirely flushed gold and wasn't entirely surprised to see her father, looking amused and impressed.

"Not bad. I'd be proud of you, except you were supposed to be whipping their asses into shape, not beating them into the dirt."

"Hey, he started it." She replied, feigning innocence briefly before smirking. "And it's been weeks since yah've given me any new toys to play with." She dug her nails in a little deeper and breathed in deep the smell of the blondes fear.

"You ever stop to think that maybe this is why?" Victor rose an eyebrow. The kids surrounding them were beginning to look worried, uncomfortable. Victor hadn't yet bothered to tell her to let go of the blonde.

"Maybe if yah didn't send me such idiots, this wouldn't happen in the first place." She looked down at the blonde. "What was it this time? A dare? Or a bet?" She looked back up to her father. "It's always funny when they lose somethin more than just their dignity."

"Victoria." A growl rumbling behind his words now, not threatening, just commanding.

"Yes, sir." She replied, a bit huffily, before letting the blonde go. He scrambled to his feet, his hand flying to his neck where he was now sporting five bleeding claw marks. Nearly running into Victor in his haste to get away from Victoria, he let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whimper before beating a hasty retreat. She watched him go before turning to the others with a raised eyebrow. "Anyone else want to have a go?" Silence. "Guess not. That's disappointin. Hey, Allyssa!" She called out to the small girl standing at the back of the group.

"Yes, ma'am." Allyssa replied crisply. She'd already come to Victoria asking to learn how to defend herself after being cornered by several boys months earlier.

"Do me a favor and show these boys how it's really done."

"With pleasure, ma'am."

…

"You're mother's worried about you." They were making their way home now. The statement seemed random, but that was just Victor. Short and to the point. Victoria knew by now not to mistake it for anything other than him just being – well, him.

"Mama's never happy unless she's worried about somethin." She retorted.

"True."

A slight pause as Victoria thought for a minute. "Ain't she always worried about me?"

"She's been worse lately. You don't talk to her enough, and then you pull that routine like you did with the blonde earlier."

"How would she even know..."

"People talk, kid, and your mother's got plenty of friends around by now. She says it's getting a little too hard to tell you and me apart."

"I thought I was always like you."

"You know how Rosie is."

Another pause. "You want me to start…behaving?" She asked. She'd try to tone it down if he told her to, and he knew it.

"Only when you're here. Just to calm Rosie down."

"Cause if Mama ain't happy, neither of us will be either." Victoria chuckled softly. "Got it."

"Not that I'm thinking you're gonna be around too much anyways. I've got a job for you, you'll be in and out enough to keep from getting too restless."

They were just outside their house now. Victoria came to a stop, turning to her father. "What job?"

"Mine."

"Yours." Her eyes widened. "But you… Ah mean…"

"The cubs are already getting big, and your mother might've mentioned she wished I was around a little more."

It was crazy, how her father would do anything for her mother. Even if everything meant settling for almost normal for a while.

"Course, it's up to you whether you take it or not." He went on. "You'll need to start getting a team together."

Was that why he'd had her training the others? That would make sense. "Do I need a team?" She knew he didn't often work with one, except when he had her tag along.

"I'm not sending you anywhere alone." His tone didn't leave room for argument.

"Yes sir." She murmured with a bit of a sigh. "How big a team?" Trying to work with the boys he'd had her training would probably end – well, not well. However, there was on person she had in mind…

"Doesn't matter as long as you ain't on your own."

"I think I've already got one, then."

…

"_Hello?"_

"Hey you."

"_Hey Tori."_ She replied, tone friendlier than the crisp responses she'd given the older girl earlier. It was a strange relationship they had. Victoria liked Allyssa and wanted to be friends, and since she'd been the one to save the younger girl from the boys she'd been cornered by, Allyssa seemed to stick to her side like glue.

"Got a question for yah."

"_I'm listening."_

"You still want out of here as badly as you did a few months ago?"

"_Do you even have to ask?" _Allyssa replied.

"Pack your bags then, cause I've got a new assignment, and you're comin with me."

Allyssa didn't respond immediately, but Victoria could hear rustling and a bag being unzipped. "Where and when?" The younger girl asked finally, excitement clear in her voice, and Victoria smiled into the phone.

* * *

_**I know there's a lot of OC's running around here, just stay with me. Obviously they all end up being important at some point or another, there is one big plotline in here somewhere, I promise. :D **_

_**I'm trying something a little different with this one, bouncing around between Jimmy and Andi and what's led up to where things stand around them now. If any of it gets confusing, let me know and I'll do my best to fix it.**_


	2. This Means War

The twins had just turned five the first time it happened. It wasn't too unusual for Marie and Logan to get asked for help, but it was usually from the X-men, or another team that they'd heard of at least once before. This time was different. A man came to see them personally and offered a hefty sum of money if they did as he instructed them and asked no questions. Neither of them liked it. They said no.

The man seemed vaguely amused by their refusal. Apparently, they weren't being given much of a choice. When he threatened the pups playing happily in their room, Logan told him to get out in that particularly threatening way of his, and the man did.

The threat haunted them, though.

After a two weeks of living in a state of constant, tense paranoia, Logan – having already had enough and realizing this was no way to live after watching Marie break down in frustrated tears – took out the card the man had left them with and called him. The job he gave them sounded more like some sort of assassination, and he didn't like it. It reminded him a little too much of the days when he was still running with Victor. He tried to tell the man to leave Marie out of it, but the man refused. It had to be both of them, it was well known that they worked well together. He explained this to Marie. In a fashion all too typical of her, she kissed him for trying to spare her – and then punched his arm for acting like she was made of glass. They did the job.

The money appeared in Marie's bank account seemingly out of nowhere. They didn't try to ask questions; neither were entirely sure they wanted to know. Months passed and they heard nothing else, and they hoped it was just a one-time thing. Then the man called again.

And that was how they found themselves here.

"We could've done this without the – mess." Marie commented with a grimace, calmly catching the man whose neck Logan had just snapped. "I can't understand why he wanted us to leave any bodies behind at all." They'd been given very specific instructions.

"Maybe it's a scare tactic." He tried a few of the doors lining the hallway and she dragged the heavy into the room that was open before closing the door again.

"What, like sayin 'look what we can do?'" Marie peered around the corner a few paces further down the hallway and took out a small hand gun, but there was no one else around. Odd.

"Exactly."

"Still." She waved him forward and they got moving again.

"I thought we agreed not to ask questions."

"Only 'cause they won't let us."

They'd made it to the room their target was supposed to be in. Marie punched in a few numbers on the keypad next to the door and tensed, hoping that they weren't too late, that the code hadn't changed itself yet. Not that they couldn't handle it if it had, but it would make things even messier, and she just wanted to get this over with.

A loud click was heard. Marie let out a breath and opened the door, Logan following close behind her, and got her gun back out –

And they both stopped abruptly when the gun was kicked right out of her hand, only to be picked up by a small young woman with dyed red and black hair. She had the gun trained on Marie.

Marie swore out of surprise more than anything else. Logan just rose an eyebrow.

"Move and I will shoot." The kid said.

"Go ahead," Logan spread his arms out.

The young woman's brows furrowed. "Her. I'll shoot her." She trained the gun on Marie.

Marie snorted. "You'll waste the last bullet."

"Move." Was all the young woman said in response, gesturing for them to move further into the room. Marie and Logan obeyed for lack of anything better to do.

"Allyssa?" A voice called out in a familiar growl.

The young woman, Allyssa presumably, kept the gun trained on Logan and Marie as a tiny brunette stalked across the large room. Marie peered around the young woman already in front of her and noted an older man dressed in a shark skin suit, passed out in a chair. Their target.

"They came right through the door and…" Allyssa broke off, eyes wide as Marie took her gun back smoothly, but she didn't aim it at Allyssa, instead sliding it back into its holster.

"Aunt Marie?" The brunette darted across the room. "Uncle Logan? What are yah'll doin here?"

"We could ask you the same question, except we don't have time for this."

"Neither do we, Tori." Allyssa pointed out, glancing out the floor to ceiling windows as a helicopter came into view. "We have about five minutes until their systems reboot themselves."

"Ah know, we need to be out of here before then. Ah'll get the old guy."

"Whoa, wait a minute." Marie said. "That 'old guy' is our target, yah can't just run off with him –" she broke off, realizing she was about to say more than she should.

"Target?" Victoria gave her a blank look. "Were you sent here to… to kill him? Do yah'll even know who this guy is?"

Marie and Logan exchanged a glance.

"Ok, what's goin on here?" Victoria demanded.

Allyssa grimaced as she held up a cell phone, pointing at the screen. "Make that three minutes until the cameras are back online, we need to figure this out _now_." Her tone was a bit more demanding than was apparently to Victoria's liking, as the brunette raised a single, expectant eyebrow at the other girl. Allyssa cleared her throat and added a belated "ma'am."

"Take him." Marie said.

"Marie –" Logan started, but she held up a hand.

"Screw our orders, Logan, Ah don't like this. Just take him."

Allyssa apparently didn't need to be told twice – she made her way back over to the man in the suit, rolling the chair over to a window that had already been blown out. Victoria glanced at her before turning back to Marie and Logan, mouth opening and closing a few times as though she didn't quite know what to say.

Three sets of eyes darted towards the door when feral ears heard the footsteps pounding down the hallway.

"Times up." Victoria muttered, and she seemed like she wanted to say more to them, but there just wasn't time. She shook her head and sprinted towards the window, dropping to all fours halfway and leaping right out of it to land neatly just inside the helicopter. It promptly cleared the area.

Marie looked worried now. Logan glanced back at the broken window.

"Two other casualties." Marie turned to Logan, repeating back exactly what they'd been told. "Two, Logan, there's a lot more about to bust in here – he said –"

"I know what he said, Marie, just –" Logan growled as the door burst open and his claws unsheathed.

"Well, what do we do now?"

"You tell me, you're the one that let the kid run off with our target!"

The uniformed guards didn't ask any questions – a bullet shot through Marie's arm before she could say anything else. She let out a soft shriek of pain, looking down at her arm with wide eyes. The wound was already beginning to heal. She wasn't concerned about her arm itself, though.

"Are you kiddin me!" She growled. "Ah loved this jacket!"

The guards stopped at that and just stared at her. Logan snorted. The fact that that was her biggest concern was a clear sign that they needed a vacation.

…

"I don't understand." Allyssa grimaced as she watched the man in the suit get carried out of the helicopter. "Why would your aunt and uncle be sent to kill this guy? I mean, why would they even know anything about him?"

"Somethin tells me they didn't. I don't know, I haven't talked to Uncle Logan in a couple months."

"Do you think they made it out alright?"

"Believe me, the last thing Ah'm worried about is them gettin past a bunch of fat, old security guards." Victoria was amused by Allyssa's concern.

"Uhm, old security guards with guns." Allyssa pointed out.

"They'll be fine. Ah'll call them tomorrow, you'll see."

"If you say so." Allyssa replied before reluctantly moving on. "So what happens to our new friend now?"

"Ah don't know. He's probably goin to meet the big chief." Meaning whoever their actual boss was. They didn't know, had never met him, and Victoria was beginning to wonder if she ever even would. "I'm just glad we got to him first." Although, now that she thought about it, it was beyond strange – and just wrong somehow – that her aunt and uncle were the 'dangerous assassins' she'd been warned about maybe having to face. Although 'dangerous' was perhaps totally accurate when referring to them, she couldn't see them being assassins of any kind. Like, at all.

"…I just hope he was worth it." Allyssa was talking. Victoria grimaced when she realized she'd missed half of what the younger girl had said.

"Just hope what…"

Allyssa looked a little hurt. "The old guy, I'm just wondering what made him important enough to go through all that."

"He was. Plenty important Ah mean. Ah may not know why, but Ah know he was."

"Because your dad told you?" Allyssa's tone was more curious than accusing.

"Yep, and he wouldn't lie. Not to me." Victoria replied with certainty as she began walking off in the same direction the man had been taken.

"Well, do you think anyone will be willing to tell us what is going on with him then?"

"Ah have no idea, but Ah can almost guarantee my dad will be wherever their taking the old guy now. Our best bet is just ask, so are yah comin, or what?"

* * *

"This will take some time I'm afraid. You have far more walls than I'm used dealing with." Kelly, a short but sturdy Irishwoman with kind green eyes, heaved a sigh as she withdrew from Jim's mind.

"Yes, I'm well aware, they're a bit necessary you know." Jim snapped a bit, and frowned at himself. He wasn't usually this short with people, but his mouth seemed to have entirely gotten away from him. He just couldn't seem to make himself relax at all.

The older woman shook her head, brushing a strand of her gray streaked red hair out of her face. "Does your whole family have a temper problem? I can't imagine what it must be like to live with each other. Although, at least Tori can be agreeable when she wants to be."

"Jimmy's been a little off for the past few days." Andi cut in. "Not uncalled for, if you ask me. Do you think you can help, though?"

"It'll require some patience and we're both likely to have a headache when we're finished, but yes, I think I may be able to help. We won't be able to sort it out all at once, though, I'm afraid you'll be here for a few days."

Jim rubbed his temples. He already had a headache. "Andi, you don't have to stay here, why don't you go find Junior? You did say he's here at the mansion."

Andi eyed him, then Kelly, before standing reluctantly. "Alright. Just – let me know when you're finished."

He nodded and she left.

"Ready to try again?" Kelly asked.

Jim closed his eyes and took a breath. "As I'll ever be, I suppose." He could feel her as she began to concentrate again. He did his best to let her in, allowing her to pass through the many barriers in his mind systematically, one at a time.

'_Try thinking of something specific you want to remember.' _She told him as she began to dig through his memories with him.

He concentrated on the faces of Lorie and Will. They were pleasant enough subjects to start with, and he felt bad that he could remember nothing about them.

A few scenes played out briefly. Playing in the snow with the two of them still very young and bundled up adorably; sitting in their cabin, in front of the warm fire, drinking hot chocolate; at the mansion, watching the two play basketball with the other kids, Lorie being a little less adventurous about it than Andi would've been. Trick or treating, Lorie insisting Andi dress up as – well, something involving a lot of pink and frills. That was an amusing image.

His mind settled, for a moment, on one memory in particular: Andi, nineteen or twenty years old, heading for the mansions front door with a duffle bag slung over one shoulder. A determined look set on her face as he got ready to plead with her, beg her not to go.

"_Annie!" A small voice called out just before he could say a word, and Andi stopped in her tracks, brows furrowing as she spun around. The voice was familiar, and even if it wasn't the way the d in her name had been skipped over was unmistakable._

"_Lorie? What are you doing out of bed?" _

_The younger girl ran forward on her two short legs and hugged one of Andi's long ones. "Stay!"_

_Andi glanced back at him, asking through their link if he'd set this up. He hadn't, and told her so._

"_Look – kid – I –," she paused, then sighed, shoulders slumping. "Willy. Just come on out." He did, a little more tentatively than Lorie had._

"_Don't weave." He said quietly._

"_Pwease." Lorie added._

_Andi bent down, gently prying Lorie off of her leg, before getting down on both knees to talk to them. "I'm not staying. But," she glanced back at Jim, "you guys can come with me. If you want. We'll go – we'll go stay in the cabin. It's ours now. We'll make that home. We're a pack. Just us. We don't need any one else."_

_They younger twins looked at each other almost as if silently communicating the same way Andi and Jim did. Then they both nodded and Andi relaxed a bit, pulling them both into a hug. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the little ones wanted more than anything was to simply not be separated from her or Jim._

_Jim got the impression, with all those feral instincts she ran on, that was all she needed as well. A pack. Sighing, he spoke up._

"_Well, I suppose that's that then. We'll leave tomorrow."_

_Andi looked back at him, raising a single brow._

"_Of course we'll have to pack properly, and we'll have to talk to professor Munroe..."_

So they'd stayed at the mansion for a while. That wasn't surprising. Following this train of memories wherever it lead him, another scene played out.

_They were in the danger room, sparring, practicing the things their father had insisted they both start learning around thirteen. Andi usually enjoyed these sessions, but this time she was being too quiet – and more aggressive._

"_Dammit!" He growled when she threw all her strength into a high kick, sending him flying backwards off his feet. The sound – odd coming from him – plus the fact that he swore, was enough to give her pause as he worked his way into a sitting position._

"_Sorry, sorry." She said, coming forward to help him up._

"_What's wrong with you today? After your date with Junior last night, I thought you'd be floating on a cloud."_

"_When have I ever been the 'float on a cloud' type?"_

"_You weren't until Junior came into the picture." She didn't respond, looking anywhere but at him. His brows furrowed. "Andi, what happened?"_

"_Nothing. We had a little fight, that's all, nothing unusual."_

"_Little? I've seen you two fight, there's never anything little about it."_

_She shook her head. "Forget it. I'm going to change." She spun around, heading for the door. He jogged after her._

"_The last time you two fought you nearly left, Andi, please. What was it this time?"_

_She stopped with a huff and turned to face him properly. "Bella called him while we were at the restaurant." Bella Marie Labeau was Junior's closest friend. Unlike Andi, he'd grown up with Bella. "She was crying over something, so he stepped out to talk to her. That's all. He didn't do anything wrong, I know he didn't, I don't know what's wrong with me." That was a lie. They both knew what it was. Andi really liked Junior, liked him in a way she'd never liked a guy before. Maybe even loved him, in a feral, possessive way that seemed to scare Junior. "It's just – she likes him too. I can tell. All she has to do is look at him and I want to claw her eyes out! What kind of person does that make me, anways?"_

"_It's natural to be jealous." _

_She shook her head. "He told me I should learn to – control it, you know, the other side, it's the same argument we've been having since you and I first came here. We fought in the middle of the restaurant, and you know what, it was one of those – those fancy places where every things in Italian and you should've seen how the waitress looked at me, like I was one of Junior's lab experiments._ _He saved money for months just to take me there, and I didn't even enjoy one minute of it!" She wiped a single tear off her cheek. "Anyways. I'm done. Just done. Me and Junior were a stupid idea anyways."_

…

Andi grimaced, wondering why on Earth that memory had just decided to surface. It wasn't exactly a pleasant one, although all of that was long past and she and Junior were happily engaged now.

She grinned softly at that thought, bringing her hands up to play with the diamond on her finger a bit. He'd be all hers soon. Well, he was already hers, Wildcat wouldn't have it any other way. The wedding was really only for Ororo's benefit. Andi would've just as soon done without all the lace and flowers and the pretty white dress.

Easily picking out his scent, she followed it up to his bedroom. She walked right in and wasn't surprised to find him crouched over a large old book.

"Hey handsome." She strolled across the room.

"Abigail!" He exclaimed, apparently in pleasant surprise, turning to her with a smile.

"You know, I would pay you at this point to stop calling me that." The smile she'd had upon entering the room faded into a playful scowl. Only her Dad had called her that – everyone else switched to Andi when she decided she liked it better. She hopped up to sit on Junior's desk next to his book, freezing a moment when the ancient wooden structure creaked a bit under her heavier than usual frame. Antique desks weren't exactly made to hold full grown human beings, much less armor plaited ones, but Andi sat on this one anyways.

"It's your name, and I like it." He eyed the desk for a worried moment, but it held just like it always did, so he turned his attention to Andi, who leaned down to give him a kiss. "Not that I am at all complaining, but what are you doing back so soon? I thought you were spending all week way up in the middle of nowhere like you always do on your birthday."

"Jimmy," she paused briefly, trying to think of what to say without going into an entire, mile long explanation, "wasn't feeling well." She tapped her temple as a simple explanation. "Kelly's trying to help."

"Ah. Well, I hope he's alright, but I'm glad you're here, my love."

She smiled in response before turning her attention down to his book. "Whatcha reading about?"

"Just brushing up on my history. Mom asked if I would take over a class for someone next week and they're working on a section about the Civil War."

"The Civil War. Huh. Why'd they call it that anyway? There's nothing civil about war."

He shook his head at her with a chuckle. "Only you would bother to ask."

"Speaking of your Mom – is Oreo here?"

"No, Mom and Dad are both gone for the next few days."

"They are?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.

"No." He said simply.

"No what?" She tried to look innocent.

"I know you, Abigail Howlette," he stood to press a kiss to her lips, "and the answer is no, and will be no until after the wedding."

Her shoulders slumped as she dropped the act. "I just had to fall in the love with the only male on the planet who can say 'no', and to _me_ no less, didn't I?"

"And I just had to find the only woman who seems to think only of 'it'."

"That is not true!" She replied, indignant, and he gave her a look. "Only when I'm with you." She amended. "But I can't help it!"

"Yes, yes, I'm aware of Wildcats desire to 'claim' me, but you've waited a good twenty years already, I'm sure another three weeks won't kill you."

"You never know, that's nearly another month. Besides, why do you care? I understand the Doc wanted us to do things traditional and proper for Oreo's sake, but honestly, would they know? _How_ would they know?"

"Sometimes you act like a lovesick teenage girl. It's not about what my parents want, it's about respect and how much of it I have for you."

Her expression softened. "That's sweet of you." She leaned in close and brought her hands up to bury them in the – well, fur, blue and soft, on the back of his head, messaging gently in the way she knew he liked. "Really, just the sweetest." She leaned in closer still. "But, Darlin, you should know by now," she gave him a kiss, much fiercer than their earlier peck, before going on, her voice half a growl, "I think sweet is disgusting." She nipped at his lip and slid off the desk as they kissed again and she backed him slowly towards his bed.

"Abigail – Andi – please." He begged in between kisses.

"Junior, will you just –" She broke off as they reached the bed and she pushed him into a sitting position at the end of it before straddling his lap and devouring his lips again.

"I will not 'just' – I promised –," but he wasn't pushing her away either.

"I know you feel the urge to claim me, too. We should've done this a long time ago." She undid his tie and discarded it before undoing a few buttons on his shirt.

"If you had stuck around long enough, we might've."

She ignored the jab. "Your parents would never know."

"They're going to be _our _parents soon." He stilled her hands with his larger ones. "Would you lie to your own parents like that?"

"My parents? _My_ parents abandoned us, and weren't around enough to suggest they even liked us much anyways. If they were around now, I'd tell them to go screw themselves."

"Abigail!" He scolded, but he wasn't actually surprised.

"Don't Abigail me, you shouldn't've brought them up." She scowled at him. "Now shut up and kiss me!" she tugged him forward by his shirt and for a moment – a wonderful, wonderful moment – she had him so lost in the kiss that ensued that she managed to unbutton his shirt the rest of the way. He even got brave, sliding his hands up beneath her shirt to wander a bit as she ran her hands through the fur on his chest…

'_Well. That escalated quickly. Even for you, Andi.' _Her brother's voice echoed through her head, and Junior pushed her away gently, suggesting he'd heard it too.

'_I hate you.' _She growled in response, but it was half-hearted. At least Jimmy was starting to sound like himself again.

'_Don't be so dramatic. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, but you both need to come down to the rec room. By the way, you forgot to lock the door. If you're going to get down to business_ _in a mansion full of kids, I'd suggest being a bit more careful.'_

She glanced back at the door and noted that her brother was right. She shook her head.

Junior prodded her off his lap as he buttoned his shirt back up. "You're adorable when you're annoyed." He told her.

"You always think I'm adorable." She wasn't impressed by the compliment.

It occurred to her that they already bickered like an old married couple. Not that anyone would easily peg her for being anybody's wife. Well, not his wife at least.

He didn't bother with his tie as he led her out of the room and they quickly headed for the rec room. Jimmy and Kelly were both there, along with a few others. Andi's attention was immediately drawn to the TV, which was playing the news.

The top story was about a bombing at an old fashioned theatre where the President was supposed to have been attending one of her favorite plays. The bomb had gone off just seconds before she'd entered the building, leaving her alive but injured. Andi stared at the screen as her stomach tied into a tight knot. This was bad. Very, very bad.

A soft beep drew her attention to her cell phone. She drew the ancient touch screen out of her pocket and wasn't surprised at the number on the screen. Slipping out of the room, mostly unnoticed as everyone's attention was still on the TV, she answered the video call with a grimace.

The image of a large man with dark eyes filled the screen. "You promised me some time off." She growled softly at him.

"That was before someone tried to blow up the President."

"Can't you find someone else to handle it, I'm getting married in a few weeks."

"I'll have you collected if I have to."

"Of course you will." Andi muttered with a scowl.

"I don't think you understand just what happens now, Agent."

"Enlighten me, then."

"The people behind this left a signature. As of two hours ago, we're at war."

* * *

_**I saw a commercial the other day for a wrist watch that's supposed to also be a smart phone too. I thought about giving one to Andi because that looked pretty cool and sufficiently future-ish but it just didn't fit with her character somehow. Maybe I'll give one to Junior or Jimmy.**_

_**Anyways, sorry the scene with Andi and Junior was maybe a little awkward. I just couldn't get it to work the way I wanted to. **_

_**Review please. :)**_


	3. Of Visions and Missing Persons

"They got there first." Marie blurted, staring down at the cell phone sitting on the kitchen table between her and Logan. Logan gave her a questioning look, but she just shrugged. "They were already flyin off when we – and then the guard's blocked our only exit. It was either go through them or jump out a window."

There was a long pause on the other end, and Marie wished their mystery boss would bother to meet them in person. A wave of nervousness and annoyance coming from Logan's end of their link told her he felt the same.

"Who are 'they'?" The mystery man asked finally.

'_Ok, it's your turn.' _She silently told Logan.

'_Let's just keep it simple.' _"All we saw was the chopper flying off." He said aloud, and for a moment they both held their breaths.

A sigh crackled through the phone. "Well, if this is true, I suppose it's hardly your fault." Marie and Logan quietly heaved their own relieved sighs. The man went on. "Which means this is no longer your concern. As for the guards, well, that's unfortunate to be sure, but then I knew the risk when hiring you. I was told you could be quite – ruthless. Incidents such as this were expected."

Told by whom? Marie exchanged a look with Logan as her stomach tied itself in a sick knot. She, for one, did not particularly like being described as 'ruthless', but then, at times, it was an apt description, wasn't it?

He tried to send her a wave of soothing reassurance. _'He doesn't know what he's talking about, and neither did the idiot who told him that.' _Being so open to each other had the unfortunate side effect of allowing her to glimpse what he really felt – a self-conscious loathing at the description that hers just rivaled. They were too much alike. She gently put her walls back up, lest they feed off each other.

"I'm sure we'll have need of you again, but not for some time. You should receive your payment by tomorrow morning." And with that, the line went dead. Logan turned the phone off.

"We should've jumped out the window." She said quietly. "I mean, it was just two stories, we would've been fine."

"Marie." Logan scolded.

"What? It's true! We're little more than – Ah don't know, some kinda animals to him, Logan. And we just proved he's right in thinkin so."

"Don't say that." He snapped a bit harshly, startling her. "We're not being given much choice in any of this." He went on, a little gentler. "Whatever happens, it's on him until we find a way out of it."

"A way out? Logan, what if there isn't one."

"Then we'll have to keep doing what we're doing, but Marie," he got out of his seat and came to kneel in front of her, taking her hands in his own, "I've been here before. Don't let him make you think – _that_. It ain't true, I don't care what we end up doing because of him."

She looked down at him as she squeezed his hands. "But you think it's true. About you, Ah mean. Ah see it whenever yah have a nightmare."

"Yeah, well. You ain't me. Thank God. I'm told one is enough."

She just chuckled.

* * *

"Three weeks. We're getting married in three weeks, Abigail." They were alone again, back in Junior's room. He was pacing in a restless way that was normally more like her, while she sat on the bed and scowled down at the half empty beer bottle in her hands – mainly because scowling at Junior would just make him more upset.

"I know. Junior, how could I forget? I'd stay if I had a choice."

"My mother will have your head if you're not back in time."

"And I'm already on thin ice with her, I know." She also knew why and didn't blame the older woman. She took another swig from the bottle. "I wouldn't be leaving if this wasn't important. You realize what's just happened right?"

"Yes, yes, of course I do, but the world as we know it has not ended just yet, and until it does I intend to go on with my life, because if we don't do so, _they _win. And we've come too far to just let them win."

"I…hadn't actually thought about it that way. You're right."

"You pick now of all times to decide I'm right about something?"

"I'm a woman. I can pick and choose when not to be right. It's what we get in exchange for having the cubs."

That got a chuckle out of him, if an exasperated one. "You'll be back?" It sounded halfway between a demand and a question.

She finally looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. "If not in time for the wedding? I'll find my way back eventually." She finished off her beer before going on. "I mean, how could they really stop me?" It came out sounding flippant in a way she knew would worry him, and she looked away again as she cursed herself for it.

She felt his eyes on her as she reached for another beer out of the pack she'd taken out of hiding. For one entirely unusual moment, she wasn't at all sure what he'd say next.

"Yes, well." He replied finally. "Let's just hope they'll be willing to give you a few days off when the time comes, or else Mom might very well strangle you."

"You know, leaving to do whatever these guys want? That doesn't bother me at all. Facing your mother if I manage to really piss her off? That… is terrifying. I don't care if I'd probably be just fine, being struck by lightning is an experience I will pass on, thank you very freaking much."

He responded with an incredulous laugh.

…

"President. _President._" Jim couldn't quite wrap his head around this. Apparently they hadn't been close to anything like this in his original memories. "We really put her in office!"

"And it might just be the end of our world as we know it." Andi was shoving her things back into her bag unceremoniously.

"And you're leaving."

"Have to."

"Why?"

"To do my job." He opened his mouth, and she held up a hand. "I already had this conversation with Junior."

"You can't tell us?" She didn't respond, looking anywhere but at him. "Or, you _won't_ tell us. Is it that horrible? You were some kind of spy. Dad used to scold you for being so much like him, although at least you're job wasn't specifically to kill people."

"It's a bit of both, really." There was an edge to her voice now. "I did tell Vicky, and Junior knows because he's about to be my husband, but they won't tell you, so don't bother asking."

"I'm you're brother. What can you tell them that you can't tell me?"

"You already know. Kelly thinks it's best if you remember things on your own."

He tried to peek inside her head, but she felt him and slammed her walls up. Knowing him, though, her stubborn silence would be enough to tell him all he wanted to know. "You know, I'd hoped for some reason that you'd end up at least a little different." Her suspicion was confirmed by the bitter edge to his voice. "Stupid thing to wish for, I guess, some people just don't change. How long is it going to be before we actually see you, I wonder?"

Her back was to him, so she startled him when she rounded on him, eyes catlike slits, fists clenched. "I am _nothing _like Daddy, ok?" Her voice a growl. "Do you know how sick I am of people comparing me to him? Even you, even Junior! Junior never even met Daddy! I'm me. Andi. I wouldn't do what he and Mama did! I wouldn't! I'm not them!" She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, herself or Jimmy. Jimmy just stared at her, expression almost frightened. She backed off, shoulders slumping, swearing softly. "I'm sorry. We've had this argument before and you don't remember and I forgot you're not you right now."

He took a breath, attempting to compose himself. "It's alright. Well, no, it's not, but I understand, I just – I'm sorry. You're right."

She blinked at him. "I am?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah, you are."

"Oh." Jimmy usually seemed to love arguing with her. She wasn't sure what to do with this.

"Call me when you get – where ever you're going?"

"Sure." She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her temple and she headed out.

…

President Josephine Acerbi was a short, dark haired, somewhat severe woman, known for her love of Italian food and no nonsense attitude. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, she was not – contrary to what many believed when she first burst onto the scene – born privileged. In fact, her family was quite poor. She fought and clawed her way to the top with a tenacity that few other female politicians had ever been able to match, not that a female president was too much a shocker at this point. In many ways, she was very well liked. Down to Earth and prone to calling things as she saw them in a truthful way that was very unusual for a politician, she only just managed to get voted into office, with the country divided almost exactly in two.

The reason for this had nothing at all to do with her politics, and everything to do with the fact that President Acerbi was a mutant and not ashamed of it. In fact, she'd several times made public displays of her ability to shift shapes rather seemlessly. She was the first mutant to ever make it to such a position.

Andi had met the woman, and gotten along famously with her, but the President could be cold as well as ambitious – and as such, Andi found herself wondering if rattling so many cages so violently had been exactly what the President wanted.

…

"Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" The large man with dark eyes that she'd talked to on the phone days earlier was leading her through the corridors of the White House. She supposed she should feel honored or something to be here, but all she really felt was worried and annoyed. "We need you here."

"Yeah, I get that, but – dammit, three weeks, Johnson. Just three weeks and I would've finally been Mrs. McCoy." Johnson was not his real name, but it was the only one he ever gave people. She found herself wondering absently, not for the first time, if he'd ever even been a real, normal person, or if handling an agency full of people like her had somehow always been his job.

"Look, Agent, you behave for me and maybe, just maybe I can get you back for your wedding."

They paused halfway down the corridor leading to the Oval Office as Andi started fiddling with the ring on her finger. "I wish I'd never signed on with you." She watched a woman walk by wearing a smart suit and shiny black pumps, her hair tied back in a neat bun. Andi was wearing a military style uniform, but couldn't manage to look quite as polished in it, and found herself feeling very out of place.

"You do know how to behave, don't you?" Johnson. "This is the President of the United States your about to see. You can't take that attitude with her."

Behave. She hated the way he said it. Like she was a dog or something. But for right now she was stuck playing by his rules, so if he told her to behave, then she'd behave. They got moving again, and he ushered her into the Oval Office, shutting the door behind her and leaving her to venture into the room on her own. Taking a breath, she did just that, coming to stand at attention before the large wooden desk.

"Agent Andi Howlette, at your service, Madam President." After a moment of thought, she gave a belated solute, only because Johnson might hear about if she didn't.

The President stood and returned the solute with an expression of vague amusement. "At ease. I'm guessing Johnson gave you an earful. I don't remember you being so quick to solute last time we met."

Andi relaxed some, letting out a breath. "Yes ma'am, he usually does."

"He seems to think you usually deserve it."

Andi gave a small shrug. "He's probably right."

"I hope he is. When I asked him to send me someone he thought was trustworthy, I was hoping he'd find someone with a little attitude. I like to be told when others think I'm wrong."

"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

"Always."

"With all due respect, why am I here?"

President Acerbi abruptly got very serious. "You're here because I have an idea that I think you might appreciate. Please, have a seat and let me explain." They sat on the two plush couches as the President did just that, and a plan so well thought out unfolded that Andi wasn't sure what to do with it.

* * *

"He's the leader of some hate group that's real big into anti-mutant stuff." Victoria told Allyssa as she slid into a booth across from her. They were at the little diner just down the street from the compound they called home.

"Who, the old guy?"

"Yeah. Yah wanted to know why he was important." Victoria took out her phone to check it, scowling when she had no new messages.

"So if he was such a bad guy, why were we sent in to…?" Allyssa trailed off as a waitress came to take Victoria's order.

"That's a good question." Victoria responded when the waitress left. "Ah told Dad we should've just let my Aunt and Uncle have at him, but he gave me the look."

"The look?"

"His 'down girl' look. It's the same one he gives me whenever Ah'm a little too hard on the guys he has me trainin. Maybe they needed the old guy to question him or somethin. Ah have a feelin they do this a lot." Victoria took out her phone to check it again.

"What's up?" Allyssa asked her.

"Nothin. That's the problem. Ah haven't heard from Ben since we left yesterday. Ah tried to call him earlier, but he didn't pick up."

"Well, maybe he's busy with school work or something."

Victoria shook her head. "He didn't take many classes this semester, he's never that busy."

"I'm sure he's fine."

"Maybe. It's just he _always _answers when Ah call." Victoria took her phone out again, hearing ringing that probably wasn't even here. No, wait, someone several booths away answered their phone. Victoria was just listening too hard.

"Maybe he's busy with something else then." Allyssa told her as both their plates arrived.

"Maybe." Victoria murmured again as she set her phone down next to her plate and made as if to eat, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything more than pick at her food. Something was wrong. She just knew it. Finally she threw her fork down onto her plate and stood to leave.

"Where are you going?" Allyssa asked, confused.

"To go see him."

"That's a two hour drive!"

Victoria was already out the door.

…

It was late in the afternoon by the time she made it to Ben's apartment, the one he was renting not far from his college campus. She knocked on the door, but got no response.

"Babe? It's me!" She called, but there was no movement inside, not a sound. Finally, she took out the key he'd given her and let herself in, entering warily. "Ben?" The apartment was dark. She looked around a bit, checking for signs that something was wrong, but she found nothing. Everything was as it should be, except that his scent had begun to fade some – he hadn't been there in days.

Standing in the middle of the empty apartment, she started when her phone finally did ring. She brought it to her ear, not bothering to see who it was in her haste. "Ben?" She asked hopefully, bringing it to her ear.

"Victoria?" It was Victor. "Where are you? Your Mom's worried."

Victoria's shoulders slumped. "She's always worried." She replied, tone flat.

"What's wrong? Where are you?"

"Ah'm at – Ah'll explain later. Ah'm comin home now, but Ah'll be a while." She hung up the phone before anything else could be said, and knew she'd get an earful for it, but that was alright. Wandering further into the apartment, she decided to check his bedroom. Maybe he'd gone somewhere and just left his phone; he was always forgetting something.

She did not find his phone. What she did find was a bottle of cheap perfume, sitting on his dresser. A bottle that was most certainly not hers. Her first instinct was to get angry at this, Wolf howling with jealousy at the idea that he'd been with someone else, but Victoria pushed it down. Something wasn't right here. Everything had been just fine two days earlier when she'd spent the night here with him. There was no trace of any other scent than his or her own. Taking one last look around, she finally left, locking the door behind her.

* * *

It was raining. Storming. Lightening lit up the darkest corners of the room briefly before receding and leaving them all half in darkness again. Andi was pacing restlessly, starting every time the thunder rolled, and still wearing that military uniform. Junior was sitting at the end of the couch, watching her, looking worried and wishing she'd calm down. Lorie and Will were seated on the floor, her arm looped through his as she rested a head on his shoulder. They weren't sure what to make of it all. They'd been so little, just infants. Andi and Jim were all they knew.

Jim wasn't sure how to feel either. He too wished Andi would just calm down, even though he was no less uptight.

"What if they're not alright?" Andi asked, pausing in her pacing to stand in front of Jimmy. "After all that…"

"What if they are?" Lorie countered quietly. "What happens then?"

Both good questions. Jim sighed and shook his head. Even he had no answers to give.

"It's been three hours." Junior spoke up. "That's a good sign that their alive, anyways."

Andi heaved a sigh before coming to sit next to her husband, only to jump back to her feet as her father-in-law entered the room. Jim found himself standing next to her without quite knowing how he got there.

Hank looked somehow both relieved and tense as he spoke. "They're both alive. Marie is still unconscious, but Logan is – very much so awake. I'm keeping him down in the lab for now." He hesitated, looking like there was more but he didn't want to say it.

"Well – what's going on? Is he alright?" Andi asked, anxious.

"Yes. Yes, he's fine, but – oh dear. Please understand, they were kept in stasis like that for over twenty years. That's a long time. Such a long time. They weren't aware."

Jim's brows furrowed as he grew impatient and, finally, skimmed the old Doctor's thoughts. "The first thing he asked when you told him how long it had been – was to see the kids. I mean, to see Lorie and Will. He doesn't want to see us."

"Well," Hank stuttered a bit, "not yet. He said not yet. I'm sure there's a reason."

Lorie and Will stood. "I'm sure he didn't mean it like _that, _sissy." She told Andi, as if reading her mind.

"You don't know them, LoLo. For all we know…" She trailed off, shook her head, and abruptly brushed past their younger siblings on her way out the door.

"Where on Earth are you going?" This from Junior.

"For a ride." She replied a harshly. Jim could feel her anger. Their father asking only to see Lorie and Will was just the trigger. This was a resentment that had been building for a long, long time – it had been pushed to the side until she was sure they were alright, but now it was all she could think about.

"On that ancient bucket of bolts you call a motorcycle in the middle of a storm?" He chased her out of the room. "Abigail, be reasonable…"

"Go on." Jim told Lorie and Will quietly. Will looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't, just turned to follow the same path Andi and Hank had just taken.

"He didn't mean it like that. He's probably just in shock or something. You'll see." She pressed a kiss to his cheek before jogging out to catch up with Will. Hank followed them.

Left alone in the room, Jim stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled over to a window, staring out it as lightening continued to dance across the sky and bathe the world in its pale light. Sure enough, after a few moments Andi's old motorcycle went sailing out of the garage and down the winding drive. He watched until she was out of sight, then shuffled out of the rec room, heading to his own.

Perhaps it was the link, Andi's wild emotions stirring up his own. Perhaps it was that he was plenty capable of just as much anger and resentment. Probably it was a combination of the two. Whatever it was, the next thing he knew there was a mirror shattered at his feet, and he was staring down at his own bloody hand, still clenched in a tight fist.

"Jimmy!" Andi's voice burst out, loud and clear, startling him.

"Andi." He managed, staring at her transparent, holographic image, projecting from the watch on his wrist. Tearing his eyes from her, he looked down to see that his free hand was fine – no blood, although he could still feel phantom waves of a pain that had seemed so real.

"Jimmy, what is it? What did you see?"

"What do you – how do you –"

"Just tell me what the vision was, it has to be now," she sounded urgent, but also like this was routine somehow, "what did you see?"

"I saw… Mama, Dad… Andi, you're never going to believe it."

* * *

_**Sorry for the shorter chapters.**_

_**Review please. :)**_


End file.
